John Liu, who has embraced the title "embattled comptroller" as a means of mocking it, has raised more than $500,000 in six months, from more than two thousand contributors, and spent $345,000 during that same period.

Liu's former campaign treasurer and one fund-raiser are facing federal charges of skirting campaign donation limits and lying about the source of about $16,000 in donations.

That investigation led some of his fellow Democrats (to say nothing of those of us in the media who affixed him with that "embattled" label) to discount Liu's mayoral prospects, referring to the Democratic primary as a three-way race between Council Speaker Christine Quinn, Public Advocate Bill de Blasio and former comptroller Bill Thompson.

MORE ON CAPITAL

ADVERTISEMENT

But Liu seems determined at least to prove that he won't be forced to withdraw by his circumstances, and suggested to the Journal that other candidates are facing problems similar to his: "There are other investigations concerning my possible rivals that are, as far as anybody can tell, ongoing because the government has never said 'We're finished.'"

Liu later said he was referring to Quinn's handling of a Council slush-fund scandal, which came to light under her watch but started years earlier.

Michael Bloomberg hopes to change the Republican Party on guns rather than defeat it. [Jason Horowitz]

A New York City editorial board sides with Timothy Cardinal Dolan and asks Cuomo why he's promoting abortion rights "while doing nothing significant to promote the alternative of adoption, or to help women avoid unintended pregnancies in the first place". [Daily News]

Assemblyman David Weprin is pushing a bill to undo mayoral control. [Carl Campanile]

Cuomo's spokesman, who has had an unusually contentious relationship with the media, got a promotion. [Joe Pompeo]

New York should have a "true" bus rapid transit system, according to a Cuomo-appointed commission. [Dana Rubinstein]

New York Police Department commissioner Ray Kelly doubts any legislation passed in Washington or New York will make a significant dent in the number of guns in America, and cops have to deal with that reality. [Azi Paybarah]

Capital is hosting an event tomorrow on the global finance and the American media. Click here for more information.

Events

"Governor Andrew M. Cuomo is in Albany."

9 a.m. Mayor Michael Bloomberg delivers the opening address at the "Summit on Reducing Gun Violence: Informing Policy with Evidence and Analysis," at John Hopkins University, at 615 North Wolfe Street, in Baltimore, Maryland. The event will stream live here.

9:15 a.m. Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer speaks at the groundbreaking ceremony of the outdoor plaza of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1000 Fifth Avenue, in Manhattan.

6:30 p.m. Stringer speaks at his Haitian heritage event at the Lecture Hall 63 of John Jay College, 524 59th Street, in Manhattan.

On "The Road to City Hall" tonight: political consultants.

2013

Mayoral candidates, be warned: the local newspaper in Rockaway is not in the business of educating candidates about the area. [The Wave]

Bill Thompson's fund-raising has been "a bit overwhelming," said one of his fund-raisers, Betsy Gotbaum. [Anna Sale]

Public Advocate Bill de Blasio pressed City Council Speaker Christine Quinn to pass the Paid Sick Leave legislation, as the flu season approaches. [Jim Smith]

Ethan Geto wanted Ed Koch to announce he was gay while serving as mayor of New York. Koch, who does not discuss his sexuality, said he was shocked when he learned of Geto's remarks, made public in a new documentary. [David Seifman]

A local newspaper warned Staten Island residents not to rebuild their homes before new housing restrictions are finalized by FEMA and City Hall. [Staten Island Advance]

Albany

Cuomo has gone from "jobs, jobs, jobs" to "passing a progressive social agenda." [Jessica Backerman]

Cuomo declared a flu emergency for the state, allowing pharmacists to give flu shots to people younger than 18. [AP]

The New York State Attorney General, Eric Schneiderman, reached a deal to improve translation services with the Nassau County Police Department. [AP]

The state comptroller is warning that the state is reaching its debt limits, and wants to stop the practice of back-door borrowing. [Tom DiNapoli]

An accomplished shooter who writes a weekly political column for two newspapers thinks stricter gun controls in the state would be wrong. [Thomas Kaplan]